


The Pureblood Heiress

by TangledHeartStrings7707



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-08 19:28:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15936782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TangledHeartStrings7707/pseuds/TangledHeartStrings7707
Summary: Voldemort is gone, the war is over, but that doesn't mean things will just go back to normal. Hermione is dealing with the death of her mother when she learns a secret about herself that no one would have ever predicted. Her entire life has been a big lie. What is her truth, and how does it involve Draco Malfoy?





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first ever Harry Potter fan work. I hope you enjoy! I typically like to write a few chapters at a time and then edit them as best as I can before posting. So updates could take mere days to weeks, but I will typically be posting a few chapters at a time. Comments and edit suggestions are always greatly appreciated!

I was seated outside the café that was located around the corner from the house I grew up in. Though this charming little café had been merely feet away from the place I called home my entire life, I had not once stepped foot inside of it or ever tried any of the exquisite home roasted coffee beans that are French pressed at every table. I was always too busy studying in my room and spending time with my parents. 

I never really had many friends growing up, at least not until I started my first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Even there it was hard for me to make friends, until Harry and Ron had to save me from a giant troll in the ladies’ lavatory. I had always had a hard time fitting in with people and society, I had felt out of place my entire life. I even felt different from my parents. I knew they loved me unconditionally, but they also knew deep down that I was different from everyone else. When my Hogwarts letter came, I finally knew why I was the way I was.

But even once I knew the truth and was finally with people who were supposed to be ‘like me’, I still felt out of place. Because I was. Though I was a witch, I was a Mud-blood, someone seen lowly in the magical word since I was not born from parents with any magical blood in their lineages. Though I belonged, I was still an outsider. I found there were a few other muggle-born like me, the chances of muggles producing magical offspring created nearly as many children as pure-blooded magical folk did each year. 

When Voldemort came back and fought for the destruction of all muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards, I knew that I had to fight until my last breath for them. I had to fight for those who were born with magical powers, everyone deserves the right to live a good life no matter who they were born from. 

Finally, more and more people knew this was the way the wizarding world would need to function in order to properly coexist with the muggle world. But this peace would come at a cost, nearly 45 witches and wizards died in the war whether from Voldemort’s Army or the ‘Good Guy’s’ as I’ve come to calling us. 

Worst of all though, was the number of fatalities that were caused in the muggle world from the war. The Death Eaters were ordered by Voldemort to attack as many public areas as they could to create the most chaos and fear. They would destroy bridges covered with people, blew up two hospitals, and even parts of Buckingham Palace. Nearly 12,400 muggles died from Dark Magic influenced by Voldemort. 

That was the reason I was sitting here, in this Café around the street from my parent’s house just outside of London. The last time I saw either of my parents was when I stole their memories away in order to protect them from Voldemort. That was over a year ago now. But I was not here to find my parents again, I was here for a funeral. My mother’s funeral. 

After we won the war, I had found out that my mother had been killed in one of the attacks orchestrated by Voldemort. My father was still alive, and he was desperately grieving. I wanted to give him back his memory, to put myself back into his life and try to salvage what is left of our family, but I couldn’t do it. If he knew that mum died because of the wizarding world, if he knew the things I had gone through and seen, he would be even more worried and lost. I could never put him through any more pain than he is already in right now. 

My father buried my mother’s ashes in the cemetery in town, only a couple miles away. It was where her parents and their parents before them were buried. I didn’t know why he had waited so long after her death to bury her ashes, I suspect he just couldn’t get himself to do it right away. I will be forever grateful for that, for it gave me the opportunity to attend my mother’s funeral even though not a single person in attendance knew who I was. I was invisible to them all, it was the hardest thing I had ever done. 

At the end of the funeral service, I heard my mother’s old dental assistant speaking to another woman about people meeting at this café for a reception. When I heard her I immediately turned to leave, but then I convinced myself that I should attend. I desperately wanted to see my father again, even if he would have no idea who the hell I was. 

After the service I waited at the café for what felt like hours, many people had come and gone to honor my mother. Many, except one. Where was my father? I pulled up my left wrist and looked at my watch to see it was nearly 5 pm. When I looked back up I noticed my father walking slowly down the street about a half block up. His shoulders were slumped down and his eyes were glassed over and stuck to the ground. He looked awful, my heart ached for him. 

A woman who was seated at a table next to me saw him and called out to him, only to get a grunt in response. He kept walking, right up to the café, and then walked right past it and turned right at the end of the block in the direction of our house. I knew my father, he wouldn’t want to be around all these people at a time like this. How I longed to run to him and comfort him, and for him to comfort me. I felt so alone. My mother was gone, and I would never get my father back again. Yeah, I had my friends, but they weren’t my flesh and blood. I truly was able to feel how Harry had felt all these years without his parents. At least I was lucky enough to have my parents throughout my life, unlike poor Harry.

I couldn’t stay here anymore. It was nice for a while to listen to stories people around me were telling one another of my mum, but it was all starting to be too much. I couldn’t bare the pain anymore and I didn’t want to break down in front of all everyone. No one knew who I was, or remembered who I was, and would question how I knew Mrs. Granger. I would not be able to hold it together then, I had to get out of here. 

I walked down the street a few blocks and once I was out of site of anyone I apparated to the front of 12 Grimmauld Dr, the old Black house and headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix. After the War Harry decided to move into the old Black home, and it was as good a spot as any. He invited me along to stay, since I really had no where else to go either. Molly Weasley had invited me to stay with them at the Burrow, but ever since Ron and I had started fighting, it didn’t seem like a very good idea. 

After the War Ron and I were smitten with one another, it felt like we could finally be together, nothing was keeping us apart anymore. Everything was perfect between us, until we decided to take our relationship to the next level. Once we slept together, everything changed. He would always compare me to Lavender, bless her soul. But even though she was dead, I felt like he truly missed her. He would suggest I wear my hair in a certain way ‘because that’s how lavender did it and it looked smashing on her’. The last straw was when he called out her name during sex, I couldn’t handle that. 

So, we decided to take a break. Which we would be taking anyways since I have decided to go back to Hogwarts this Fall to finish my studies. Harry, Ron, and I took the last year off to find the horcrux’s to defeat Voldemort. But we really didn’t miss anything anyways. Since Voldemort had control over the school through Snape, it had been a Hell hole for the students. No one learned a thing except torture and war. 

Professor McGonagall had been made Headmistress of Hogwarts and had been placed in charge of repairing the school over the summer months. All students were to retake their last year of classes over again this year. So, there would be double the size of 1st year students to accommodate each student’s needs. 

As a reward from the Ministry of Magic, Minister Shacklebolt awarded Harry, Ron, and I each an order of Merlin and a pass to skip the school year and just take our N.E.W.T.’s. Harry and Ron decided not to go back to Hogwarts, but I couldn’t do that. Though we had been through some horrific events at the castle, I had to finish my education, the right way. Besides, Headmaster McGonagall offered me the position for Head Girl, and I could not refuse. 

I wanted to be able to finally enjoy the school year and my classes without constantly worrying over when Voldemort would come and doom us all. I wanted to enjoy my youth a little longer. Though I was already eighteen and considered an adult, a lot of my childhood innocence was stolen away by the constant fear of death and destruction. I wanted one last shot at having a normal Witch’s education.

I made my way inside my new home at 12 Grimmulad Dr and the candles in the front hallway illuminated. I closed the door behind me and shook off my black jacket then hung it up in the closet near the front door. 

I heard a chair scrape on the floor in the kitchen and heard Harry’s voice call out to me, “Is that you, Hermione?”

I replied in a monotone voice, displaying my lack for any human interaction, “Yep, I’m here.”, I made my way to the bottom of the stairs and started to climb up to my room.

Harry opened the swinging door to the kitchen and poked his head out at me, “Hey, how did it go? Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head no, “I’m just going to go to bed Harry, I’m not in the mood much for talking.”  
He looked at me with a sad smile and his eyes looked really concerned, “I know you must want to be alone right now… and normally I would support that 100%, but…”

I looked at him and waited for him to continue, “But…”

“…the Minister is in the kitchen, and he is here to see you.”

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, “Me? Whatever for?”

Harry looked just as puzzled as I was, “I honestly don’t know ‘Mione, I’m sorry.”

I grunted and rolled my eyes, “Bloody Hell.”, and turned around to make my way back down the stairs and into the kitchen to greet my guest.

Harry held the door open for me and I entered the kitchen to find Minister Shacklebolt standing in the corner of the room, his large frame looking monstrous in the small space. 

He saw me, and his face lit up with a smile that always reached into his eyes, “Ms. Granger, good evening. I am so sorry to come unannounced,”, he reached his hand out to shake mine, “and I am truly sorry about your mother. My Condolences.”

I took his hand and put as little life into the contact as possible, I wanted anything but to be here right now.

We all sat down around the table and Harry flicked his wand to bring out some tea for everyone. 

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and watched the tea lightly swaying in my cup, waiting for the Minister to explain his visit. 

The Minister took a sip of his tea and cleared his throat, he seemed nervous, and I had never really seen him nervous before even when we were fighting to the death against Voldemort.

He finally spoke, “So Ms. Granger, I have some business that involves you personally. We may talk in private if you like.”, he said nodding towards Harry.

“No, Harry can stay, he’s my best friend so whatever you tell me I’d just discuss with him later I’m sure.”, I said, just wanting him to get on with it already so I can go lay in my bed and sulk.

He cleared his throat again, “Very well. Ms. Granger the situation I am about to share with you is… rather delicate, I just want to warn you.”, he paused and took a breath, “I was approached yesterday by Mrs. Patricia Zabini. You likely know her son, I believe he attended Hogwarts with you.”

I nodded, “Yes, Blaise Zabini. What do they have anything to do with me?”

He gulped, trying to suppress his nerves, “Well as a matter of fact Ms. Granger, it would appear that Blaise Zabini is actually your half-brother.”

Harry was the one who spoke in response, “What?”

My eyes went wide, and I was speechless.

The Minister continued, “Yes, it seems that Ms. Granger here is not actually Ms. Granger at all, but Ms. Zabini. I am sorry to have to inform you of this Hermione, but the Granger’s were not your biological parents.”

Harry practically yelled, “And what, you’re saying Ms. Zabini is Hermione’s mother? I don’t believe that for a second.”

The Minister corrected him, “No, actually. Hermione is the daughter of Mr. William Zabini and his first wife Joann Avery. It seems Mr. Zabini married Patricia Longcost shortly after his wife died in childbirth with Hermione.”

“How can that make any sense? Hermione and Blaise are the same year.” Harry added.

The Minister let out a deep breath, “I do not know for sure, both women must have been with child at the same time. All I do know is that Mr. Zabini was Patricia Longcost’s 7th marriage. It seems she had Hermione sent away after the marriage and any memories or documents of her destroyed or tampered with.”

Suddenly I felt my body start to gently shake, “’Mione, are you okay? Hermione say something.”, Harry was gently shaking me to get my attention.

I had zoned out and was stuck in my head from the shock. Once I came to I gently pushed back my seat and stood up, “Thank you for this new information Minister, it must have been very hard for you indeed.”, I turned towards Harry, “I think I will go to my room now. I need to lay down.”

Both men were silent as I walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway towards the stairs. I could feel my brain starting to shut down, my emotions were on overdrive and I needed to recharge. I don’t even remember walking up the two flights of stairs to my room, but before I knew it I was laying face first into my pillows sound asleep.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione learns more of the truth about her real family and their past.

When I woke from my much-needed slumber, it was dark outside. I heard a scraping sound and a soft clink from the table at the foot of my bed. I turned to find Kreacher placing a tray on the table. I sat up and stretched my arms above my head, reveling in the feeling of waking up my body. 

Kreacher grunted, “Kreacher didn’t mean to wake you miss. Kreacher brought miss some tea and sandwiches. Miss slept for a long time.”

I yawned and moved to the end of the bed towards the tray of food that was beckoning my empty stomach. I took note that I was still in my black pencil skirt and black button-down tailored blouse that I wore to the funeral. I sighed and reached for a piece of the sandwich that Kreacher made me. 

Kreacher poured me a cup of tea and added a touch of cream with one lump of sugar, he knew just how I took my tea now that we had become friends. I tried to convince him to leave the Black household and stop serving, but he wanted to be with his friends as a free elf. So, he lived at 12 Grimmould Dr. Harry had even given Kreacher his very own room, a gift that made Kreacher very happy as hard as it was for him to accept. 

I took the tea from Kreacher and said, “Thank you Kreacher, you really did not have to do this for me. You are truly, too kind.”

I took a sip of tea and let the sweet aroma fill my nostrils, I could smell that it was Chamomile tea and instantly knew that Harry must have asked Kreacher to make it for me. Harry knew Chamomile was what I would drink whenever I was feeling upset or unwell. I smiled, appreciating how lucky I was to have kind and loving people in my life like Harry and Kreacher. 

Kreacher spoke, “Kreacher will go start a bath for miss. If Kreacher is honest, Miss smells a bit.”, he said while quickly scrunching his nose. 

I opened my mouth in shock at what the elf had just said to me, some of the sandwich in my mouth fell on my lap. I lifted up my arm to smell myself to find Kreacher was right. I made a sour face and said, “Wow, you’re right! How long was I asleep for?”

Kreacher responded, “Miss was asleep for just over two days now.”, he turned and made his way out the door and down the hall to start my bath. 

Two days? I had been asleep for two days? Wow! I quickly ate the rest of my food and poured myself some more tea. A few minutes later Kreacher was back at my door telling me that my bath was ready.

I made my way towards the door but was struck suddenly when Kreacher said, “Mr. Potter asked Kreacher to tell you that company is expected tonight, the Minister of Magic is expected.”

Suddenly all the memories of my conversation with Minister Shacklebolt a couple nights ago came flooding back into my mind. The Grangers, my loving parents whom I longed so dearly for, were not my biological parents. No, instead I was the half-sister of Blaise Zabini! Wow, I had tricked myself into thinking that conversation was just a nightmare that I had, but it was real. 

I whispered under my breath, “Bugger.”, I dropped my shoulders and muttered to Kreacher over my shoulder before stepping into the bathroom, “Thank you Kreacher.”

I sat in the warm fragrant water covered with pink silky bubbles and tried to erase my mind and the thousands of thoughts racing through it. There was no way that what the Minister told me was true, it was impossible. I couldn’t be a Zabini, I wasn’t born from magical blood. I was Hermione Jean Granger, Muggle-born and proud. I couldn’t be from some wealthy pureblood family. No, no, no, that just could not be!

But after I replayed my conversation with the minister over and over again in m my head, I started to feel that what he told me really was the truth. It started to feel…right. All my life, even after I was accepted as being a witch, I still always felt out of place from my family. I always felt like there was something that my parents had kept from me. Did they know about any of this? To be perfectly honest with myself, they did not seem very surprised when I received my letter from Hogwarts, they were remarkably calm and understanding about the entire situation. At the time I thought I was just so lucky to have them be so accepting of me, but maybe they had been expecting it all along. 

Soon all the bubbles disappeared, and the water was turning cold. I raised myself out of the tub and cast as drying spell over my hair and body. I dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt then pulled a black jumper with pearl embellishments around the shoulders over my head. 

I made my way down the stairs to find Harry greeting the Minister at the door. Harry heard me get to the bottom of the stairs and turned towards me.

“Hermione, I’m so glad you are awake. You scared me there for a bit you know. How are you feeling?”, He asked.

I gave him a decent smile, “I feel much better, thank you. And thank you for the tea Harry, it helped me a lot.”

The minister came up behind Harry and gave me a warm smile, “Ah Ms. Granger, you are looking in better spirits. I trust you were able to get some needed rest.”

I nodded with a small smile, “Yes I did, thank you Minister.”, I took in a short breath then added, “I am sorry if I was rude the other night. It has been a long day and it was all a lot to process. I’m still not completely sure what is really going on.”

He shook his head slightly, “Please, I understand completely. And I know this must be a very confusing time for you. But alas, that is why I am here, to go over more in detail with you the outcome this new information with have on you as well as the Zabini’s.”

Harry led us into the drawing room and Kreacher brought everyone in the room tea and biscuits. The minister pulled out a large stack of papers from beneath his cloak and with the flick of his wand a pair of glasses appeared on his face. He began to rummage thorough the stack of papers as I was silently trying to contain myself inside my skin. 

The Minster found what he was looking for and said, “So I am sure you would like some more information of this matter. After I left the other night I took it upon myself to do some digging. I didn’t find much. All I knew was that William Zabini had passed away in 1988, leaving his wife Patricia and his son Blaise the heirs to his large fortune and multiple estates. Now Mrs. Zabini was the one who came to me, she presented me with the true will that included the name of his daughter, though you were not given a first name you are referred to as Heiress Zabini also as an heiress to William Zabini’s assets. “

He continued, “I was unable to find any other valuable information with what the ministry had on hand, all except that Blaise Zabini was born just three weeks after you were Hermione, and it was proof that both women were pregnant at the same time.”

Now I was even more confused, but Harry asked the question before I was able to, “So then how do we know that Blaise is actually Hermione’s sister? What if he was fathered by someone else and not William Zabini?”

Minister Shacklebolt replied, “Ah, that was my first thought as well Mr. Potter. But I found the truth from the source itself. You see before I came here tonight I stopped by the Zabini Manor and asked Mr. Zabini himself if all of this was indeed truth.”

I cut in, “You asked Blaise about it? How would be know the truth? Surely he would just go along with whatever his mother tells him is true.”

“I did not mean Blaise Zabini. It was William Zabini that I spoke with. He confirmed to me that he had an affair with Patricia while he was with your mother. Apparently, him and your mother were set up by an arranged marriage from their families, trying to keep their pure blood line. But he was secretly in love with Patricia and married her the moment he got the chance”, he answered.

Harry said flatly, “I thought you said William Zabini was dead, how would you speak with him.”

The Minister smirked, “Oh he is, quite dead, but his soul is also residing in the Zabini Manor. He has haunted the place since his death, apparently deeply regretting letting Patricia send his only daughter away never to be found.”

I couldn’t help myself, this was all just way too much information to be taken seriously. I burst out with laughter, nearly spilling my tea out of the cup I was holding in my hands. Both men looked at me with slight worry on their faces. The girl before them was surely going mental.

Harry spoke, “Hermione are you alright? I know this all sounds mental, but we need to get to the bottom of this.”

I responded between laughs, “Ha ha ha, I’m sorry Harry, it’s just, ha ha ha, all of a sudden I some sort of Pure-blood hairess, ha, my brother is Blaise Zabini, and my dead father is a ghost in the Manor his Pure-blood father raised him in and his biggest regret in life is abandoning me when I was an infant. Ha ha ha ha ha! It’s all just comical really. Can nothing in my life just be normal for once?”

I could see the pity that both men felt for me in their eyes, especially from Harry. He knew first hand what life was like constantly losing those whom we love the most and learning the dark truth about the past. 

The Minister had a pained look on his face, this situation was clearly rather hard for him as well, “I know this is a lot of information being surfaced rather quickly. The main thing we need to discuss is the estate. The will Ms. Zabini provided me clearly states that you are to receive one third of the total value of the combined assets. We can set up a meeting in the future to discuss ownership of the various properties that belong to the Zabini Family. For now, though, we can go ahead and forward you some assets. It seems there is an account that you are immediately available to access, as well as a magical trust through Gringots that you will be able to access upon your 30th birthday.”

The minister handed me a document that had my information as Hermione Zabini on the document, stating I had 25 million galleons (nearly 5 million pounds) in my account at Gringots, and a trust that had about 78 million galleons, worth nearly 15.6 million pounds). And none of these amounts were close to the worth of all the various Zabini estates. 

Minister Shacklebolt said, “There is just one more important document that I will need you to sign before I leave today,” he paused and took a deep breath before continuing, obviously about the speak some bad news, “Unfortunately since this matter has come to light within the ministry you are required to change your legal name to be able to register within the ministry. You will no longer be able to go by Granger and must henceforth be Hermione Zabini.”

“You can’t be serious, these people cast Hermione away for her entire life and now you expect her to take their name?”, Harry burst out, visibly not happy about this latest information.

The Minister replied, “I am very sorry Harry, but it is not possible. A Witch or Wizards name is bonded to them by magic. It’s surprising that Hermione was able to get by using her nonmagical name before. Hermione, you would not happen to have any accounts in your name at Gringots, would you?”

I was puzzled, why would that matter, “No Minister, I do not. Why do you ask?”  
“Only because if you had tried to open an account there, we would have learned the truth about your lineage sooner, opening an account in Gringots would have revealed your true magical given name.”, he replied.

I looked down at the document that I was supposed to sign, a magical contract stating that my true given name was Hemione Joann Zabini, Heiress to the Zabini estate and head of the Zabini household. The document stated that I was to be in placed as head of the estate once I reached my 30th year. The eldest child of each family without a master was automatically instated as the head of the estate an old Pure-blood rule no doubt. This was ludicrous, I couldn’t be placed as the head of a Pure-blood family. 

I looked to the Minister, “Is there truly no other way?”

He shook his head, “Unfortunately no. If you want to be properly registered within the wizarding world, you must follow your true magical name. Otherwise you would not be permitted to work within the ministry, as I am aware is your intended destination once you complete your N.E.W.T’s.”

So that was it. I either become a Zabini Heiress and continue to practice magic within the wizarding world, or I lose everything that I have ever worked for in my entire life. I had no choice, I had to become Hermione Joann Zabini. I took a deep breath and briefly looked up at Harry before signing my name to the magical document before me.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione meets Blaise for the first time knowing they are siblings, she also sees Draco Malfoy for the first time since the war.

A few days had gone by since the Minister had come and presented me with my new name and identity. They went by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was packing up my things in preparation for my return to Hogwarts. A return I was no longer excited for. Now whenever someone would address me, it would be Ms. Zabini, no longer Ms. Granger. Every single person would know my true identity, my true bloodline. I was almost embarrassed to be called a pure-blood, I was proud to be a muggle-born. But I wasn’t really a mud-blood, no I was pure, nearly as pure as one could get in the eyes of wizard.

I was not looking forward to it. Not only would Harry, my best friend, not be there to help me adjust, but I would also be taking on the pressures of being Head Girl. Thank goodness Ginny would be there this year so I would not be completely alone. Though I hoped to god that she would not try to bring up my relationship with Ron, that was the least of my worries now. 

Suddenly I heard a light knock at my door, I turned to find a beautiful redhead grinning at me with perfect teeth that my adoptive parents would have swooned over. She came sauntering in and sat down on the bed beside my open trunk.

“Well hello Ms. Granger, oops I mean Ms. Zabini. It is going to take me a while to get used to this!”, Ginny said with a toying grin. At least she knew how to make the situation feel a bit lighter by joking about it. 

I replied, “I know, I feel the same way! I feel like my whole life was a lie.”

She replied dryly, “Well I guess it was sort of a lie, wasn’t it?”

All I could do was nod in agreement before Harry was calling up to us to start heading to the Train station. Once we got to Platform 9 ¾ for the Hogwarts express I suddenly felt very nervous. My life would forever be different now. Harry and Ginny were busy snogging and telling one another how much they loved each other. I levitated my belongings into the carrying compartment and went to make my way onto the train. 

I heard Harry call after me to say goodbye and I turned to wave at him. When I turned around I bumped right into someone and would have fallen if they did not catch me at the last second.

A low and smooth voice spoke, “I am so sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-”

I looked up and my breath escaped my lungs, standing before me was Blaise Zabini, my half-brother. I was speechless I had no idea what my birth father looked like, but the more I stared at Blaise’s face, the more I knew in my soul that he was made of my blood. Though his skin was significantly darker than mine and the angles in his face were sharp, traits he had to have gotten from his mother, I could see it in his eyes. The more I looked at his eyes, the more I saw mine reflecting back to me, they were identical. 

Blaise was struck speechless. I hadn’t thought that this would be hard for him to take in too. How long had he known about me? How long had he known that the bushy haired girl he teased for being a mud-blood was in fact this own flesh and blood and a pure-blood witch? One minute I was standing on the platform speechless, the next thing I knew I was being picked up in Blaise’s arms and being swung around in circles, crushed into him beneath his long arms. The action actually made me laugh a bit and I was still smiling when he finally put me on the ground and released me.

“Hermione!” He was beaming with joy, “I am so happy so finally see you after all of this. I have been waiting so long for the truth of who my sister was to be revealed, and after all this time it was you!” He turned serious for a moment, his face drooping slightly, “I am so sorry for tormenting you in the past, I was a bloody git and should have treated you better. No matter what blood runs through your veins, I am truly sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me Hermione.”

My heart was struck with genuine love for this man who was my brother. I had always been an only child, so had he, and now we would have each other. I had a brother! It did truly feel wonderful. I was warmed inside hearing his apology, he had really seemed to change into a better man than he had been before the war. Hopefully it was a change that would last. 

The whistle for the train blew, signaling that we would be departing soon. Blaise offered his hand to carry my bag for me and said, “Would it be okay if we rode to Hogwarts together? There is really so much I would like so talk with you about.”

How could I say no? There were so many unanswered questions that I still had about all of this, and perhaps Blaise would be able to answer them for me. I mean how often was it that you found out that one of the boys in your school year was really your brother? Plus, he was a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor, so we would not get very many opportunities to speak in private once school started. 

We boarded the train and walked together to look for an empty compartment. Every door we passed people were looking at us and whispering. We were the latest news after all. In the magical world, things like this spread like wildfire. Only the morning after I found out about the truth, the full story of my true blood line was printed all over the Daily Prophet. Everyone knew that I was no longer Hermione Granger and was now Hermione Zabini. 

The train ride to Hogwarts was a little over an hour and a half. During this time Blaise happily shared with me the details of his family, our family, and his childhood. Our father, William Zabini, passed away in 1988 while he was conducting an experiment with Lucius Malfoy on an ancient magical artifact. Things went wrong and unfortunately led to his death and leaving Lucius with minor injuries. I was not surprised to learn that my father and Lucius were long time close friends, growing up together in pure-blood society. Their close friendship is what led to Blaise and Draco being close friends, they grew up together as well. 

Blaise said he always knew about me, he didn’t know who his sister was, but he did know that I existed and was out there somewhere. He said my father spoke of me often, always encouraging Blaise to push his mother into agreeing to find me and bring me home. Blaise’s mother did not want me back in their lives, she didn’t want me to take all their money away from them. Clearly, she didn’t know me, for I would never do such a thing. But I guess it was to be expected, supposedly my birth mother was a stuck-up pureblood who spit on anything that she felt was below her. Blaise said she most likely was turning over in her grave when I was given away to be raised by muggles. 

Blaise’s mother Patricia had been married 6 times before she married our father William. She had come to give herself the reputation as a Black Widow of sorts, each of her husbands dying in mysterious accidents and leaving her a rather large sum of money. But apparently what Patricia and our father had was true love, for when I asked Blaise why she had never remarried after father died, he said her heart had never fully mended after he died, and she was still forever devoted to him. Hence why she finally agreed to seek me out for the truth. 

Before we knew it, the train was approaching Hogwarts and we had to end our discussion. But I was happy to finally learn the parts of the truth, of my truth. The void of questions in my brain was getting smaller. But the most important question I had was still unanswered, why did my father let Patricia send me away in the first place?

As we exited the train together more and more people were staring at us. Luckily, I was used to stares since it came with the territory of being the best friend of the ‘Chosen One’. As Blaise and I waited for a carriage to take us up to the castle, a group of his fellow Slytherins approached us. Among them was Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, and Draco Malfoy. 

“Hello Blaise,”, Pansy tried to speak seductively, “we missed you on the train, wherever were you?”

Blaise smirked and replied, “I was with Hermione, we had much to discuss.”

Pansy turned towards me and glared, “Hmm.”

A carriage approached and we all got on. As Blaise held out his hand to help me into the carriage Pansy spat out, “Blaise what are you doing, you can’t seriously be inviting Granger to ride to the castle with us.”

Everyone turned silent and looked at Pansy as if she had gone completely daft, she noticed the stares and questioned, “What?”

Just when I thought it would be Blaise who would be standing up for me, I was surprised to see him beat by none other than Draco Malfoy.

“Hermione is Blaise’s sister Pansy, or have you forgotten already. I would say she has more of a right to be on this carriage with us that you do. If you would remember, we just ended a war that was caused by things so petty as treating others differently for their house or their blood. Are you Mad?”, Draco spoke then turned to look at me, “Hermione has every right to be here with us.”, he sat back in his seat and gave me a warm smile before looking away into the night.

Pansy was dumb-struck, Draco, of all people, the person who had spoken the most ill of Hermione all these years, was the one now standing up for her. I couldn’t help but feel the same way. This man sitting before me was not the boy I had known before. He seemed to have changed. As I sat there staring at Draco, I suddenly felt so horrible for him. He had been put through so much from Voldemort during the war. And he knew better than anyone what I had been through. After all, he was present when his Aunt Bellatrix was torturing me on the floor in the middle of Malfoy Manor. 

Malfoy turned to look at me, probably sensing my eyes lingering over his face for far longer than they should be. When our eyes connected I couldn’t get myself to look away. His cool silver eyes were pulling me into them. I could feel the pain and suffering that he was hiding behind them. Draco leaned forward and signaled for me to come closer to him. I leaned forward, close enough for him to speak into my ear without everyone being able to hear what he wanted to say. 

I felt his warm breath tickle my ear as he spoke and it sent a shiver down my spine when he said my name, “Hermione,”, he spoke barely above a whisper, “I am truly sorry about all the pain I caused you over our years here, I only hope one day you will be able to forgive me.”, he briefly touched the tips of his fingers to my hand and I felt a zap pulse through my skin before he pulled away and sat back in his chair.

I was speechless, yet again. Did he really just apologize to me? Draco Malfoy apologized to me? And what was that touch? Did he curse me or something? Had he felt it too? I could still feel my body reacting to the feel of his breath touching my skin when he spoke. I sat there and stared at him, unable to take my eyes away from him, our eyes locked on one another from across the carriage.

Suddenly Blaise spoke my name and pulled me out of my trace, “Hermione.”

I snapped my head towards him, “Yes?”

“I heard that you are Head Girl this year, way to go! See, it is clear that smart minds run in our family.”, he said, boasting over me. 

Theodore cut in, “Yeah weren’t you both part of the Slug Club? Too bad Hermione isn’t a Slytherin, then she really would be the smartest witch of her age.”, he teased.

Blaise added, “You know our father was a Gryffindor.”

My eyebrows shot up questioningly, “Wait, really?”

He nodded but was cut off by Daphne, “No way! I can’t believe you have Gryffindor blood in you Blaise. And all this time I thought you were a true Slytherin.”

Draco added, “He is a true Slytherin, just as Hermione is a true Gryffindor. Why do we all get so caught up in our stupid houses? We are all just Witches and Wizards. None of the other magical schools have houses. There is so much segregation it’s disgusting. That’s how we ended up in the war in the first place!”, he ended his statement with a little bit of heat, his eyes were filled with rage.

Everyone fell silent for a few moments, taking in everything Draco had just said. Clearly this was a new Draco that no one had ever seen before. I suddenly had a different view on this man before me, I respected him. 

Once we got to the castle I broke myself away from the group of Slytherins and made my way to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. I found Ginny and took a seat next to her, trying to ignore all the whispers and stares around me. So much for wanting to come back to try and have a normal school year. 

Neville Longbottom sat across the table from me and as always greeted me with a big warm smile.

“Hello Hermione, nice to be back at school isn’t it?”, he said being polite.

He was a true friend and had been there through so many of our battles with Voldemort. Even though everyone was obsessively whispering about me, I felt like I was home. Hogwarts brought me so many painful memories, but also so many happy ones. I felt safe here. 

Over the next few minutes I was content. Enjoying the feast and having pleasant conversation with Neville and Ginny. I momentarily forgot about all the worries and sadness that had been plaguing my mind lately. Suddenly our conversations were interrupted by the Headmistress at the head of the hall.

Headmistress McGonagall gave her opening speech welcoming everyone to the new year at Hogwarts. We took a long moment of silence to commemorate all of those who had been lost to us in the war. It was as if all the joy had been sucked out of the room, all the painful memories from just over four months ago came flooding back into everyone’s minds. Right here in this very room, laid dozens of wounded men woman and children, as well as dozens of dead who had lost their battle in the war. 

After out moment of silence the Headmistress tried to lighten the mood by introducing some of our new professors and courses that had been added to the school. Now there was an entire department dedicated to muggles studies and muggle-wizard coexistence. After the new staff was introduced McGonagall announced all the Prefects for each house, each standing up when their name was called. Finally, she was coming to introduce the Head girl, I held my breath waiting for her to call out my new name for the first time.

“And everyone please join me in congratulating our Head Girl and Head Boy for this year, Hermione Zabini, and Draco Malfoy.”

I stood without a thought but was surprised that I was not caught off by the Headmistress calling me Zabini, as I was to learn for the first time that Draco Malfoy was named as Head Boy. Draco stood at the Slytherin table, everyone around him cheering with thunderous applause. He was looking at me with a smirk, clearly laughing at me for being so surprised to learn of him being Head Boy.

This was a new development all its own. As it was, Head Boy and Head Girl share a wing in the castle. Said to each have their own rooms and bathrooms but sharing a common room. The only students allowed in the common room are Prefects, to go when the Head Boy and Girl are needed and to meet for Prefect meetings. I had seen the common room before, as I had been a prefect in 5th year. Really no one was there often but Head Boy and Girl, meaning Draco and I would likely be spending a large deal of time together. 

For some unknown reason, I suddenly felt more nervous about this year than I had been before.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Draco get to know each other a bit better, sharing secrets, then flirting, and even a kiss?

After the feast, I was scheduled to have a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall in her office with a schedule and handbook regarding my Head Girl duties in being in charge of the Prefects. I ascended the stairs to the Headmistresses office, the last time I had been in this room it belonged to Professor Dumbledore. So much had changed just over the last couple of years. 

“Ah Miss Gr-I mean Miss Zabini. Forgive me, I think it will take me a bit of time to adjust to your new name my dear.”, McGonagall spoke as she came around the from her desk to greet me. 

Once we were within an arm’s reach she pulled me into a tight hug, “Hermione I have missed you, I hope you are well.”

I let myself melt into her warm mother-like embrace. Minerva and I had become very close over the years, she was my mentor and had become one of my closest and most trusted friends. Some may have thought our relationship to cross the line, but when people go through horrific experiences together, they form a special bond. 

We parted, and she motioned for me to have a seat while she made her way to the large chair behind her desk. I took a moment to look around the room, she had most definitely taken time to make the room more of her own. I studied her as she was looking through some parchment on her desk. She was clearly well suited for Headmistress, I knew that we would be seeing great things from her at Hogwarts. I was so busy taking in the scene of Headmistress McGonagall that I didn’t hear someone enter the room behind me.

McGonagall spoke, “Hello Mr. Malfoy, please do come in.”

As soon as I could feel his presence in the room, the hairs stood on my neck. I turned my head to look at him standing in the entrance of the office. He seemed taller than he was four months ago, he looked slightly older as well, more mature. But I guess war will do that to you, it had done it to all of us. We were no longer children after those times. 

Draco started to walk into the room and I felt the strangest sensation in my stomach, almost like…butterflies. What was I thinking? Why was my body reacting this way? I’ve had this reaction before with crushes in the past, but I could not for the life of me, understand why Draco Malfoy was the one giving me those feelings.

I turned back towards Minerva and briefly closed my eyes tight to peel my eyes away from Draco. I had to suppress these bloody feelings that I was having before someone noticed. But the Headmistress caught my quick movement and gave me a puzzled look. I just smiled at her trying to give her some reassurance and urge her to just move past it. 

Draco made his way to the desk and sat down in a chair placed next to me, “Good evening Headmistress McGonagall, Miss Zabini.”, he spoke to each of us with a bow of his head.

When my name came out of his lips, it was the first time that hearing my new name felt right, I truly felt like Zabini was my name as he spoke it. I smiled at him in return and turned my head towards McGonagall.

Minerva handed us each a stack of parchment with our expected duties and a schedule of meetings that we were required to run. Every week we would need to check in with the Prefects and every other week we would send our reports to the Headmistress. It was actually a lot of work that we were expected to do, but I had been preparing and fighting for this position my entire academic career. 

After she explained what she was expecting from us she got up from her desk and walked us to the exit, “I trust you both remember where the Head Wing is. I have changed the passwords you have each requested for your private rooms. All students will have tomorrow off to bond with one another before classes start, something I have added this year. But I expect you two to host a meeting with the prefects at some point to go over their duties and expectations.”, she gave us each a warm smile and said, “I am expecting very great things from the both of you.”

Draco and I walked together towards our rooms, at first, we were both silent, slowly walking side by side down the halls. But I couldn’t handle the silence anymore, I was suddenly starting to feel awkward and nervous. What was getting into me? I didn’t get nervous like this anymore, I was Hermione Granger, well now Hermione Zabini. I was one of the golden trio that helped defeat Voldemort. I played a vital role in saving many lives in the Magical community. And here I was, feeling nervous just walking next to Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, the boy who had teased and bullied me numerous times over the years, who brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Normally I would want to blast his brains open with an Incendio spell, but right now for some unfathomable reason I did not hate this Draco as I once had before. 

As I was about to open my mouth to speak, Draco spoke first, “I know I said it before on the carriage, and I’m not sure how many times I will have to say it before you will truly be able to forgive me, but I am so so so sorry Hermione for the way I have treated you in the past. I was an idiot. I was a bloody fool. I let my father mold me into this dark twisted boy and I was so cruel to you. You have always been the smartest witch I have ever known, and you have achieved so much over the years. Just know that I was so wrong, and I hope one day you can forgive me. I would do anything to regain any type of friendship that we may have had if I wasn’t such a stuck-up arsehole to you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, he was practically groveling at my feet for my forgiveness. It is true that he was absolutely horrid to me, he said and did things to me that should be unforgivable, but for some reason all I wanted to do was forgive him for every little thing he had done. For some reason I felt like he deserved my forgiveness.

But then a thought occurred to me and I spoke, “Draco, I really do appreciate your apology. Truly, I do…But are you just doing this because now I am your best friend’s sister? Did Blaise ask you to do this?”

Draco stopped in his tracks, he looked pretty hurt, “No, I had planned on speaking to you before I even knew about you being related to Blaise. Though I do see why you would think that. He is my best friend, and I also consider him to be family, we grew up together you know. But Hermione, I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness for the way I treated you, but I am a different person now. The war ate me up and spit me out into a changed person, I am not the foolish ignorant git that my father had helped shapeme to be. I am truly sorry, from the bottom of my heart.”

I was stunned, he really did mean it, I could see the truth pouring out of his silver eyes. I responded to him without thinking, “Draco I can see how much you have changed, though I forgive you, I am still very hurt by the way you made me feel in the past. But you will find I am a very forgiving person. And I cannot hold you responsible for the pain members of your family have caused me.”

As soon as the last words came out, I regretted saying them. My mind was brought back to the memories of Bellatrix Le Strange holding me down on the cold marble floor of the Malfoy Manor as she carved the word MUDBLOOD into the skin on my forearm. I could still feel the words being carved into my flesh. If I pulled up my sleeve I would still see the scar the of the letters on my skin. I could have healed them away with magic, but I kept it as a reminder of the struggles I went through and overcame. As she was torturing me I could see Draco and his parents in the corner of the room, watching her mutilate me for information. Draco had looked like he was in agonizing pain while I screamed out, and I knew there really was nothing he could do. He didn’t choose to join the Death Eaters, he was forced into it by Voldemort himself. 

Draco was staring down at the floor, shoulders slumped. The painful memories clearly filling his head too, “That was the beginning of the worst days in my life. I felt so helpless, I was an idiot to just sit there and watch her hurt you.”, he looked at me and took my hands into his then dropped down to his knees, “Please Hermione I am so sorry. I replay that day over and over again in my head, it haunts me in my dreams. I shouldn’t have been so scared of my Aunt, I should have stood up for you and protected you. But I was a coward. I failed you. I promise you that I will never let you down like that ever again.”

My heart was beating fast in my chest, I was mesmerized by his pleading eyes looking up at me and pouring out his soul. This version or Draco Malfoy was raw and in touch with his emotions. The guard he had around him his entire life was finally stripped away. No one had ever shown me this much emotion towards anything before. It was beautiful, and I could feel exactly how he felt. 

“Draco, you cannot be held accountable for her actions, she was an evil woman and you had every right to be scared out of your mind of her. I am sorry that you have nightmares of that day, I can honestly say that I do as well.”, I naturally started to gently rub my fingers along the silky skin over his hands to comfort him, it just felt like the natural thing to do, “I can see how much you have changed, I am looking forward to getting to know the new Draco.”

He smiled up at me and my insides melted. He was so handsome, I had never really taken the time to notice the sharp angular lines that made up his face and the beautiful silver and blue specks that seemed to sparkle in his eyes. Of course, he was known for his striking white blonde hair, but I had never admired how beautiful the color was on him. It made his eyes stand out even more against his smooth pale skin. Part of me was longing to feel what the skin on his cheek would feel like under my fingertips.

I felt lost in a trance for a moment and then saw Draco blush, as if he had just heard the very thoughts I was thinking. Oh fuck, what if he did read my mind. It was actually very possible for Draco to have skills with legilimency, considering that the mind reading skill was known to be a common trait of the Malfoy’s. 

I pulled my hand away from him and cleared my throat, “Well I daresay the hour is getting late,”, I looked at my watch nearly 8pm, “we should really be getting to our rooms.”

Draco chuckled and got back on his feet, “Oh yes, some things never change, like your constant fight for perfect punctuality.”

I turned towards him and lightly nudged his shoulder, “Hey, I am not always that punctual!”

He responded, “Yes, you are right. I recall in 3rd year you made a bad habit of showing up a few minutes late to classes. Yet somehow the professors never docked you points for it, it used to infuriate me!”

I burst out in laughter, “Oh really? I can’t believe you noticed that at all. Why wouldn’t you tell the professors on me then?”

“I’m not sure. I think there was a time I was a bit obsessed with you honestly, I wanted to hate you so much that it made me think about you constantly, so I would always notice when you weren’t in class and then were suddenly there, sometimes in the blink of an eye you would appear.”, a deep smirk settled on his lips, “I didn’t tell because I didn’t want to be that annoying tattle kid, whom I know I had been in the past. But most of all I wanted to figure out for myself what you were really doing and how you were getting away with it.”

I cheekily responded, “And did you ever figure out my secrets?”

He turned towards me and looked into my eyes with a smile, “You know, I never did. And I must say, the mystery still haunts me to this day.”, he finished with eyes pleading for me to tell him the truth.

I really did feel like I could trust him, and there really was no real sense in keeping it from him anyways, “Well, if you must know, I was taking twelve classes that year.”

“That’s impossible, some of those courses would overlap.”

My smile deepened, “Yes, that is why I was using a ‘Time Turner’. All the professors knew about it, so they wouldn’t reduce points. Though Snape was not happy with it, I assure you.”

Draco looked as though he had been hit with a ‘Stupefy’ spell, “You are bloody brilliant Hermione. I never would have guessed that was the case. You have left me amazed, once again.”  
My heart started to race again, and butterflies were bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Were we flirting with one another? It sure felt like we were, and it was oddly natural. His praise of me was making my insides feel giddy. I hoped to god that he couldn’t hear my rapid heart-beat. 

We finally reached the doorway for the entrance of our common room. Draco spoke, “Loyalty.”, and the doorway to the common room opened. It looked just as I remembered, a large rectangular room with golden brown leather couches gathered around a large oak table. To the side there was a small kitchen area stocked with various fruits, pastries, goblets, and various non-inebriating drinks. There was a large fireplace in the opposite corner of the room with a deep red velvet couch and a small coffee table. There were two doors, one on each side of the room. One for the Head Girl and one for the Head Boy. 

My door had an Otter carved over it outlined with red and gold leaf. I knew McGonagall picked the Otter for my door since it was my Patronus animal. I turned towards Malfoy’s door and saw that it was merely painted black with a dark green outline, there were no animals in site. I bet Minerva just didn’t know what Draco’s Patronus was, and now I was curious to what his animal was.

I pushed it towards the back of my mind and whispered to my door, “Austen”. I had chosen my password to reflect my favorite muggle author. The door opened and revealed my surprisingly large room. I walked in and found a large queen-sized bed against the wall but in the middle of the room. On one side of the room there was a large bookcase, and a long study desk. I got closer to the book case to see that it was already filled with books on various subjects. My fingers were itching to explore the spines of those pages. 

On the opposite side of the room there was a large cherry wardrobe and a matching vanity. In between them was a door that led to my own private bathroom, something I was really looking forward to enjoying. The bathroom contained a toilet and a large claw foot tub, but also a curtain-less shower in the corner with a rain faucet directly overhead. This was a surprise for me to find, but I was instantly intrigued by it.

My trunks and belongings were waiting for me at the foot of my bed. I made my way to them and started to unpack my belongings. After I finished I pulled out my schedules and got my quill in hand, ready to condense all my schedules into one leather bound book. I was about 5 minutes into writing when I heard a faint knock at my door. I had left the door open, so I could see Draco’s face in the doorway.

“Come on in.”, I said, still writing out my schedules. 

He must have been hesitant to enter because he was standing inside of the room as close to the open door as he could get, as if he would need to make a quick getaway.

“What are you doing Draco, I said you could come in, didn’t I?”, I said as I turned my head towards him. 

He was standing still as a post, tightly holding a stack of parchment in his hands, “I feel it would be inappropriate for me to come in your room any further.”  
I sat up and let my back fall into my padded desk chair, “And why is that? Are you afraid that I am going to bite you Malfoy?”

He stiffened up even more at my words, but I swear I saw something flash in his eyes. Something wicked. It made my insides go fuzzy and edged me to push him even further.

“So, you are scared…and here I thought you were the venomous serpent, that it was your bite I would need to watch out for.”, what has gotten into me? Why was I saying this to him? Fuck I needed to gain control of my words. 

A sly, but sexy smile slid over his lips, “Yes, I do agree with you there. I am a venomous serpent…and you would not be able to handle my bite, trust me.”

Try me, I thought to myself. His words were leaving me hot, and I could feel my skin flush slightly. This was mad. I had to gain control of myself and stop flirting with the sexy white-haired man standing in my bedroom doorway. Okay now I was starting to understand why he felt it was inappropriate to enter my room. 

I stood up and bumped into my desk which then spilled a stack of about 10 books over on the floor. They each fell with a thump and landed in a heaping mess. 

“Bloody Hell, I’m such a clumsy mess.”, I said and knelt down to pick up my books. 

Suddenly I felt warmth next to me and a spicy sweet scent filling my nostrils, I looked over to see Draco knelt on the floor beside me picking up my spilt books. He looked up and our eyes met. I was suddenly fantasizing of his lips touching mine, I could almost feel his warm breath brushing across my lips. 

He took in a sharp in take of breath and turned his focus back towards my books. I could see his cheeks getting pink again. And now I was almost certain that Draco had read my thoughts. I was mortified. But I was also a woman, an adult now, and I had to be mature about things like this. 

We both stood up and placed the books back on the table, “Thank you.” I spoke to him.

“No problem. I uh, the reason I came in…I wanted to see what time you would like to hold the prefect meeting tomorrow. I was going to send scrolls out tonight to keep the students informed.”, he said, keeping himself cool and collected. 

I responded, “How about 10am, then everyone will have the rest of the day to relax before term starts.”

He smiled, “Excellent, I’ll get right on it.”, and he turned towards the door to leave.

I called out to him, “Wait, Draco.”

He turned around and looked at me with questioning eyes.

“I-I was just wondering, and I hate to pry, i-its just I thought I felt…I mean are you a Legilimens by chance?”, I spat out my question.

His eyes briefly looked down at the floor before looking back up at me, “Yes, I mean I have the skill, but I don’t use it very often. Sometimes it will just happen though. I apologize if you feel I intruded your thoughts, I promise I will try to keep out of them.”, he said looking guilty.

My cheeks turned bright red, “No Draco, it is not you who should be ashamed of anything. You should be proud of your gift, though I would appreciate it if you didn’t always look into my thoughts, though I could see the benefits of it at times….but, it is me who should apologize, I should not have been thinking the thsings I was, I am mortified you had to see that.”

Draco chuckled lightly, “Oh I am not bothered by it, it’s flattering, really. But, please you have nothing to worry about, I won’t say anything to Weasley or anyone.”

I responded, “Why would I be worried about that? What does Ron have anything to do with it?”

“Well he is your boyfriend…and you were thinking about kissing me…”

I cut him off before he could continue any further, “Ron isn’t my boyfriend.”

Draco’s mouth was hanging slightly open, he must not have been expecting my news, “H-He isn’t? B-But I thought you two fell madly in love during the war…”

I added with a sigh, “Yeah, I did too…”

His face turned sad and he said, “Oh, Hermione I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

I moved towards my desk and started to put my books away needing to use my hands on something, “No, not really. I’m still working myself through it, I don’t think we will ever be able to sort it out, so I just need to push myself to move forward.”

Draco spoke with sincerity in his voice, “Well I think Ron is an idiot. I mean I’ve always thought he was an idiot because well he is Ron Weasley…but for him to mess it up with you, that makes him a complete imbicile. Only a fool would let you slip away from their arms.”

“Thank you, Draco, for your kind words. I think I’m just not very skilled in the department of relationships, I’m better off with books.”, I said nodding my head towards the dozens of volumes in from of me. 

He shook his head, “That is absurd. Don’t let one git like Weasel ruin it for all the others out there. Trust me, there are dozens of guys, and honestly probably a few girls who would kill for an opportunity with you. Don’t sell yourself short Hermione, you are truly an incredible witch.” He paused briefly, “And to be honest you are quite beautiful too. Some would say the ‘complete package’.”

I shook my head, “Now I know you are just saying that to make me feel better.”

Before I knew it, he was next to me and his hand was resting lightly over mine I looked into his eyes as he spoke, “No Hermione, I’m not. I think you are probably the most beautiful witch that I have ever been lucky enough to lay my eyes on.”

As I looked into his eyes I felt as if I was being tranced, mesmerized by his stare. I took in a deep breath and let my eyes wander lower on his face, down towards his full pale pink lips. His scent was intoxicating and playing with the desires in my head. I could feel him in my mind reading my thoughts, but I wasn’t upset about it. If anything, it was intriguing me.

I spoke just above a whisper, “Are you reading my thoughts again?”

His eyes were burning into mine, flipping through thoughts of our lips consuming one another, It seemed to be all I could think about.

He responded while slowly bringing himself closer to me, “I am trying not to, but you are making it very difficult when you are basically projecting images of me…your mind is practically begging me to view it…Hermione why are you doing this to me?”

I responded truthfully, “I honestly don’t know. I’m not normally like this. Seeing you stand before me… I don’t know what has gotten into me. I just feel this strange pull towards you, I know I’m just going mad. Please, forgive me, I am not trying to make you see something you don’t want to be seeing in my head.”

He gave me a wicked smile and inched closer to me, “Oh Hermione, trust me, your thoughts are not showing me anything I haven’t already thought of in my own head.”

Then he leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against mine in a sweet kiss that left me begging for more.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get steamy between Hermione and Draco.

We parted from one another, our bodies were just inches apart, buzzing with an electric need to be touched. Draco hesitated for a few moments, but then he brought his right hand up to the back of my neck and placed his strong fingers around the base of my skull and pulled me into him for another kiss.

This time neither of us held back. I let my hands slide up his muscular stomach, over his black cable knit jumper, and rested them on his broad chest. His muscles were hard and lean, and they felt amazing under my hands. Draco parted his and his tongue came to the entrance of my mouth, asking for admission. I gladly accepted and met his tongue with my own, following his lead as our mouths moved together in sync. His hands started to roam up and down my back, pulling me closer into him.

I had never been kissed like this, desire was burning inside of me, begging for more. Draco broke the kiss and left us both panting. Why did he stop? He was still holding me in his arms.

“I am sorry Miss Zabini, I fear I may have overstepped my boundaries.”, he said trying to avoid my eyes.

When he called me Miss Zabini, something awoke inside of me. It was damn sexy coming off of his lips. My insides immediately started to melt, and I could feel my knickers getting wet beneath my skirt. My heart beat sped up and the only thing I could think of was imagining myself tangled up with Draco on my bed.

He must had heard my thoughts, even without looking into my eyes, because the next moment he looked into my eyes with a wicked stare. I could see the desire building in them, matching my own. Then all of a sudden, my mind felt slightly clouded, like it was being filled up with something else. Then I heard it.

“Hermione.”

It was Draco’s voice, and it was in my head, because he was looking right into my eyes, but his lips were not moving.

“Hermione can you hear me?”, he spoke again.

This was really intoxicating for some reason, having Draco inside of my mind was only making me want him more. I let out a soft moan and spoke out loud, “Yes.”

He smiled and continued talking in my head, “These thoughts of yours are ruining me, what do you want from me?”

I replied out loud without any hesitation. My body knew what it wanted and what it needed, and that right now was Draco Malfoy, “I want you. Draco kiss me again, but this time I don’t want you to stop.”

I grabbed his jumper in my hands and pulled him into me, our mouths making contact with the collision. Our lips moved together perfectly, he took my lower lip between his teeth and lightly bit it, sending direct signals to my sex and lighting my desire. I let out a moan and felt my arousal building. I brought my hands down to the bottom of his jumper and pulled the fabric up over his head, leaving him in trousers and a messy white button-down shirt with his green and gray tie. I pulled at his tie and loosened the knot and pulled it over his head, then went straight to work on his buttons, I desperately wanted to touch his skin.

But he stopped me and pulled my jumper over my head and loosened my own red and gold tie. Then he went to work on my buttons as I went to work on his, it was a race to see who could unbutton the fastest. In the end my quick fingers won, and I was rewarded with the silky touch of his perfect pale skin over his lean muscles. With his shirt open his aroma was even stronger and drove me wild. I tried to pull his shirt off, but he stopped me again.

He spoke, “Wait Hermione, I still have the Dark Mark and I don’t want to frighten or upset you.”

I gave him a gentle smile and slowly pulled my shirt off, first exposing my breasts being held up by a see-through black lace bra where you could see my hard nipples peaking through, Draco was drinking in my body, I could read the desire on his face. Then I pulled my arms out of the fabric and let it fall to the floor leaving me in my skirt and bra.

I exposed my inner arm with my scar from Bellatrix and said, “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

Draco immediately took my arm in his hands and traced his fingers over the letters spelling out MUD BLOOD, then he leaned over and placed a kiss over the top of it before straightening up and removing his shirt. And there it was, the Dark Mark, a tattoo like mark on the skin skin given to Death Eaters when they were initiated by Lord Voldemort Himself. 

I let my fingers trace over the mark, made up of a skull with a snake crawling through it. The Mark was meaningless now besides the horrible memories it must bring. But the marking on his milky white skin was making me hot, the modification to his flawless skin was sexy. Like those muggles who have tattoos all over their bodies. 

Draco was the bad guy, the forbidden fruit that I was never to touch, and it only made me want him more. I let my fingers trace over his skin and let the electricity build up between us. I brought my hands to the zipper on my skirt and started to undo it.

Draco spoke quickly, “Hermione, if you remove your skirt I don’t think I will be able to stop myself any further, I don’t want to do anything you are uncomfortable with.”

I continued to unzip my skirt then let it fall to the floor, leaving me in just my black lace bra and matching black lace boy cut knickers, “I told you that I didn’t want you to stop. Don’t you feel it Draco? Like something pulling us together. I know what I want and right now Draco, that is you.”

My words gave him the okay he needed and in an instant, he was lifting me up onto his strong arms, and carrying me to my bed. He laid me down and brought his lips to the hollow of my neck, kissing and nibbling all the right places. I had never been touched like this before, I was in heaven. He trailed his lips down my neck and to my breasts. Once he was over one he took my nipple in his mouth, still covered in lace, and lightly grazed it with his teeth. I let out a loud “oh fuck” and could feel my arousal building inside of my body.

Draco freed my breasts from my bra and devoured my skin with his lips. Whenever his teeth would graze my skin I cold feel the fire burning inside of me. Draco brought his mouth back to mine and I could feel his arousal pressing between my hips. He rocked our hips together and grinded his erection over the lace of my knickers which were now slick with my arousal. 

It felt so good. He wasn’t even inside of me yet and this already felt better than any sex I had ever participated in before. I started to grind my hips in rhythm with Draco and was starting to lose myself in him.

“Draco. Fuck this feels so good. Please don’t stop.”, I practically begged him.

And of course, he stopped and looked down at me right into my eyes, “You’re not going to come, already are you? I haven’t even been inside of you yet.”

I replied, my body begging for more from him, “I-I don’t know, I’ve never actually had an orgasm before.”

He looked at me, shocked, “You’re not a virgin though?”

I shook my head ‘no’, and looked at him sheepishly, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Draco moved my chin, so I was looking up into his eyes, “Don’t be embarrassed, you just haven’t been with the right person yet. I promise I will make this well worth your wait.”

Then he stole my lips with his and drowned me with desire. He stood up and removed my knickers while I removed my bra, smiling at my blushing cheeks and drinking in my completely naked form.

“Merlin Hermione, you truly are beautiful.”, he spoke before removing his own trousers and boxers, letting his massive dark pink erection free. 

I was in awe, I had never known a man’s penis could look so appealing. It was gently bouncing up and down, revealing just how large it really was. Nothing compared to what I had seen before. I could feel my juices pooling in anticipation.

Draco situated himself on top of me while still holding his weight off me. I could feel his erection gently making contact between my legs and I let out a groan. He started to rub his erection over my folds, coating his penis with the juices leaking out of me from my arousal.

“Ahh, you are so wet Miss Zabini. Tell me, are you sure you want to continue?”, he said while teasing my entrance with his glistening cock.

I was too aroused to speak, then I heard him in my mind, “Tell me Hermione.”

I called out, “Yes, please Draco, I need you.”

Then he gently pushed himself inside of me and continued moving in and out of me in a gentle pace. His erection was hitting me in all the right places, opening up places inside of me that I didn’t even know existed. As he continued his pace I started to feel full, all the pain and sorrow that I had been through and all my worries had completely slipped free from my mind. The only thing that mattered was right here and now. 

I was moaning, and I knew it was loud because my noises were bouncing off the stone walls and playing back into my ears. I knew it was probably a smart idea to keep quiet, we were definitely breaking quite a few rules at the moment. But I didn’t care. Nothing mattered to me at all but Draco gently pounding into me and taking my worries away with him.

My body was getting ready for release, I could feel my arousal getting ready to spill over. Draco let one of his hands slide up my thigh and brought his thumb to the nub of my clitoris. As soon as his skin grazed the area I cried out in pleasure.

Draco spoke in his smooth and seductive voice, “Relax into it Hermione, keep focusing on the feeling. Let it keep building up and let go, I am going to make you come for me.”

His words gave me just the right nudge that I needed. I relaxed my hips and let him push deeper into me, helping to push me over the edge. I grabbed onto the comforter beneath me and clawed it with all the strength contained in my small hands. My orgasm took over my entire body and left my legs gently shaking. 

As I cried out, “Draco.”, I could hear moans escaping from his lips as he was coming into his own orgasm, releasing his warm seed into me.

His steady movements were slowing down until they ended and he lightly rested is head on the base of my neck, then he turned and spoke softly into my ear, “Hermione Zabini, I have been waiting so long for you.”, he breathed heavily and gently pulled himself out of me then rolled over on the bed beside me.

I was speechless, I couldn’t respond. The last few minutes were the most amazing of my life. Sure, I had sex before, but it was never anything like this was. I had no idea that it could be this good. My body finally started to come down from the high and with it my mind started to become clearer. What have I just done? I just slept with Draco Malfoy, Draco Fucking Malfoy! My childhood tormentor and lifelong enemy, ex Death Eater and henchman to Voldemort. Fuck! 

But oh, was it worth it. I turned my head towards him and took in everything starting from his still large but shrinking cock, up his chiseled abs, to his tight chest, and up to his beautiful face that held his enchanting eyes. I immediately got lost in them, again.

He chuckled at me and said, “So it was that good huh?”, clearly reading my mind to see if I was satisfied or not.

“Hey, stop reading my mind you nosy Slytherin you!”, I said and rolled my body over on the bed, laying now on my stomach.

Draco watched my movements and trailed his eyes over my curves and arse that was in plain view, “Merlin.”, he let out in a whisper, then cleared his throat to say, “I’m sorry for invading your mind again, I just had to make sure that you enjoyed yourself.”

I replied with a sigh, “Oh yes Mr. Malfoy, I most definitely enjoyed myself. I had no idea it could feel so good!”

He asked, “So I take it sex in the past was not satisfactory for you?”, and he pulled the comforter over our bodies as we laid completely naked together under the covers.

I laughed, feeling so comfortable in revealing to him the things that most did not know about me, “Oh God no! My first time was in 4th year, and it was so quick, and slightly painful, but besides that I felt nothing. The wizard was really a great catch, every girl was always falling all over him, but I had only used him really to get back at Ron. I had slept with the wizard he had once greatly admired, and it was probably one of the cruelest things I had ever done to someone. It was no surprise that Ron went with Lavender the next year, I had truly hurt him.”

I felt a slight pang in my chest, “But even after Ron and I finally found one another and engaged in sex, it still felt stiff and uncomfortable for me. Though I know he enjoyed himself because I had to clean up his mess every time.”

Draco let out a small gasp, “No… Are you telling me that your first time was with Viktor Krum?”, he was in shock at the secret I had just revealed.

I gritted my teeth together and tried to suppress the laughter threatening to spill, “Well yes, that would be correct. My first time was with Viktor.”

Draco laid flat on his back and ran his fingers through his hair, “Fuck! I had always suspected it, he was like a lost puppy dog always watching you from afar, and he was so much older than you, we were only fourteen then!”

I was taken aback by his response, I couldn’t believe that he had paid the close enough attention to me all these years. It was if he sounded…jealous. It was strange, he hated me all those years. Yes, Hermione he hated you, and now look where you are!

I spoke boldly, “Don’t tell me you are jealous!”  
He looked at me then, his eyes growing a bit softer, “You know, I think I might be.”

My heart sunk into the bottom of my stomach, there were those butterflies again. Where were they coming from? Draco and I talked for what felt like hours, and before I knew it my eyes were drifting off to sleep.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets see Draco's side of things shall we, he has a secret.

I slipped out of the bed and made my way out of the room as silently as I could. I didn’t want to wake Hermione, she looked so beautiful and at peace in her dreams. Once I closed the door, I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Fuck, what have I done?

I made my way across the common room and entered my own private chambers. Once inside I closed the door behind me and said, “Fuck.”

I stood there for a moment, just staring at the floor, replaying highlights from the last few hours in my head. I could not believe it, I just slept with Hermione Granger! Ah but she was not Hermione Granger anymore, she was a Zabini now. She was the lost Zabini heiress that he had grown up hearing stories about. Of course, no one knew that is was going to be fucking Hermione Granger that would turn out to be Blaise’s missing sister. 

My entire life my mother would tell me stories about her childhood, and all her stories always included her best friend Joann Avery. Yet another daughter in the elite group of pureblood witches and wizards from where my family came. My mother and father grew up knowing that they were arranged to be married, as did Joann and Blaise’s father William Zabini. They all attended Hogwarts together, along with Tom Riddle, whom became Voldemort. 

Once mother and father married, Joann and Mr. Zabini soon followed. My mother says she was so happy because her and her best friend Joann ended up being pregnant at the same time. Their due dates predicted just four weeks apart. I was born first, and once they knew for sure that I was a healthy baby boy, The Zabini’s and my Parents made a pact to arrange a marriage between myself and the unborn child still in Joann’s belly if it proved to be a healthy girl.

She was born and was indeed the healthy girl everyone predicted her to be, except that Joann lost her life that night barely an hour after the child left her womb. She had lost too much blood and the doctor did not catch it in time and there was no spell or potion that could save her. Then shortly after Mr. Zabini remarried, to a beautiful witch named Patricia. It was quite the scandal in the pureblood society, Zabini had been having an affair with Particia behind Joann’s back, and she too had a brand-new baby boy who was fathered by Zabini, just weeks younger than his newborn daughter. My mother swears Patricia is somehow involved with Joann’s death, but my father always assured that was not the case.

The new Mrs. Zabini was insanely jealous of his daughter. Though William didn’t love Joann as he loved Patricia, Joann was said to be one of the most beautiful witches of her time. Patricia was scared he would grow to love his daughter more than her and leave her alone with her son in the streets. To prove his love, Zabini sent his daughter away to make his new wife happy. He thought he was sending her away to live with a nice wizard family, but Mrs. Zabini had Hermione taken to a muggle family, hoping she would never grow to step foot in the world of wizardry. 

I spent a great deal of my time at the Zabini Manor growing up, and soon became best friends with Mr. Zabini’s son Blaise. My family has spent every summer, every holiday with Blaise and his family for as long as I can remember. They used to frequent Malfoy Manner until Mr. Zabini died doing some magical experiment with my father. Since then, we would spend a lot of time at the Zabini Manor since that is where Mr. Zabini’s ghost would naturally locate to. Mr. Zabini would roam the halls of his manor day and night, as ghosts seem to do, and Mrs. Zabini spent most of her days cooped up in the Manor with her dead husband. 

After his death, Zabini became obsessed with the location of his daughter that he had so carelessly given away to please his wife. He constantly talked about longing to look into the face of his beautiful daughter. Whenever I would spend a long amount of time at the Zabini Manor, Mr. Zabini’s ghost would always come up to me to talk of his daughter, the one that I was supposed to be married to. The largest problem though, was no one knew her name, she had not been given a name before being sent way. 

He would always try to bait me into helping him find information on the missing girl, he would promise me that she would be the most beautiful witch and loving wife. He would take me to a photo of her that hung on the wall in his study, taken on their wedding day. I did have to agree that she was very beautiful and looking back I don’t know how I didn’t put it together that Hemione was in fact the missing daughter, she looked almost identical to her except for the eyes which she visibly got from Mr. Zabini.

I remember when I got the owl from Blaise, 

Draco,  
Meet me at my place as soon as you get this.   
We found my sister!

Blaise

I read the words and my throat instantly went dry. They found her? The long-lost girl that I had been daydreaming about my entire life. The woman that I was always told over and over again that I would marry. The pureblood heiress that had been promised to be mine since our births over 18 years ago. 

My parents and I apparated to the Zabini manor and walked in on quite a mess. Mr. Zabini was chasing Mrs. Zabini around the house screaming at her for betraying him. Since Mr. Zabini was a ghost, Mrs. Zabini could not go in any room to get away from him, so they were busy playing a game of scream and chase around the entire house. Ms. Zabini was magically throwing everything in her path at the ghost, only causing damage to the house since he couldn’t get hurt physically. 

Blaise was standing in the main foyer of the house trying to repair any damage that his mother had done while attempting to run away from his father. He saw us approaching and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Thank god you are here. Maybe one of you can get them to calm down.”, Blaise spoke, pleading with us.

My father spoke, “Merlin, what has happened? I thought you said you found the girl?”

Blaise replied, “Oh we found her all right.”  
My mother cut in, “Well, where is she? And why is William so upset about it?”

Blaise answered with a laugh, “Well, once he discovered that she had been given away and raised by a family of muggles, he was not very happy.”

My father snickered, “This is preposterous! How did you find her? Did you hire a professional? I want to speak with them!”

Blaise laughed even harder and pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet that was rolled up in his back pocket, “We didn’t hire anyone. Father saw the photo in the paper and he knew that the girl was her. Frankly, I’m amazed that we didn’t all know. She has been under our noses this entire time!”

I took the paper from Blaise’s hands and unrolled it, my parents looking over my shoulders to see the face of the mystery girl. The three of us looked upon the face of Hermione Granger along with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley on the cover of the paper, getting awarded the Order of Merlin for their services in defeating the Dark Lord. 

My mother gasped, and my father let out a low growl from deep in his throat and spoke, “How could we have missed this? Looking at the girl now I see it, she really does look identical to Joann. What a bloody fucking mess!”

All blood drained from my mother’s face, she looked completely horrified. Both of my parents started arguing with one another, adding to the madness of the entire situation, then they joined in following Mr. and Mrs. Zabini around the house trying to get answers. 

I just stood still, motionless, staring down at the moving photo of Hermione. This girl whom I had been raised to hate and bully, who’s life I had made miserable, was actually the girl that I was raised to spend my life with. 

Blaise came up next to me and looked down at the photo of his sister, “Can you believe that after all this time, it has been her all along?”

I let the question float in my mind and looked into his eyes for the right thing to say, when I noticed then that he had the same eyes as Hermione, then I said, “Honestly, I’m not as surprised as I would have expected.”

Blaise answered, “Yeah I guess you’re right. But fuck man it really does make sense now. I always knew you had a crush on Hermione no matter how much of a prick you were to her all the time.”

All I could do was smile and agree, he was right. When I found out, I was so happy that it was Hermione. She really was the smartest and most beautiful witch I had ever known, I had always known that about her. I had spent many hours daydreaming of her, cursing her for being a Mud blood and against everything my family ever taught me to hate. But I was also scared out of my mind. I didn’t think she would ever be able to accept me after all the horrible things I had done to her and especially for working for Voldemort. She hated me, and I was hopelessly head over heels for her. 

Not to mention that she was with Ron Weasley ever since the war. They had always had a ‘thing’, Hermione and Ron. I never understood what she saw in him. Alright, so he wasn’t all that bad and I guess he could be rather brilliant when he tried. He did help defeat the Dark Lord after all, he was standing in the photo with Hermione getting his own Order of Merlin from the Ministry. But he definitely was not good enough for her, not by a long shot. 

And there was one thing for sure, I was not good enough for her either. Maybe I could have been some time ago before the war, but the last few years I had proven myself to be a coward, just like my father. My actions may have saved my family from destruction, but they led to the death of the greatest wizard of all time, Dumbledore. I was a coward, I should have gone to Dumbledore from the beginning, then maybe he would be alive and helped to rescue dozens of other lives from being taken in the name of Voldemort’s cause.

I despised myself, and I knew that Hemione did too. Especially after my Aunt Bellatrix tortured her in my home while my parents and I just sat by and let it happen. I can still feel the way her screams pierced my ears as they echoed off the stone walls of the room. The image of blood dripping down her arm from the letters my aunt cut out of her skin, ‘MUDBLOOD’, it still haunts my nightmares. At least in that situation, Weasley proved to be the bigger man than myself when he aided Potter in her rescue. If they had not come, I have no doubt that my Aunt would have spilled all of Hermione’s blood on the cold stone she had her frozen to.

No, I definitely am not the right one for her. How could she ever forgive me? But either way, I vowed right then and there that I would do everything in my power to earn Hermione’s forgiveness, even if it took the rest of my life to do so. 

A few days later Headmistress McGonagall sent me an owl, requesting me to take up the position of Head Boy for the upcoming school year. I always dreamed of being Head Boy and had been working steadily for it until I was forced to take the Dark Mark and work for Voldemort. I accepted the position of Head Boy without any question or second thought. 

Once aboard the Hogwarts Express I learned from Neville, whom I had surprisingly become good friends with through the recent months after the war, that Hermione had been posted for the position of Head Girl. I had assumed she would not be returning to Hogwarts as I had heard the golden trio had been excused from needing to finish their lessons before taking their N.E.W.T.’s. My palms were sweating the entire train ride, I was so nervous to actually be sharing the Head Wing with the girl whom was unknowingly my intended. 

Once we arrived at Hogwarts and I was seated across from her in the carriage, I felt so drawn to her. I could feel Hermione’s eyes on me as the carriage rocked on the cobblestone beneath us. After I had so hastily defended her to Pansy, I knew I must have made myself look like a fool to her, I could see Blaise silently laughing at me. But it seemed I did the opposite. I could feel her thinking about me. 

I tried so hard to resist reading her mind with my legilimens skills by looking at anything but her eyes, but when she was thinking about me, it was as her thoughts were projecting themselves to me, asking to be seen by me. I couldn’t stop myself, I had to make eye contact and see what she was thinking. I could see myself reflected in her mind, I could feel her sympathy for me. Did she pity me? And then I saw an image flash in her mind of being tortured by my Aunt, she seemed to feel sorry that I had to witness such a thing. Her sympathy for me was like torture. I couldn’t wait any longer, I had to apologize for being such a dimwitted git. 

Since that moment our fingers touched, I could not get my mind off of her or take my eyes away. I could feel a pull towards her, something coming from deep down inside my body. Even when we were at the feast in the Great Hall I could not get myself to peel my eyes away from her. Blaise was watching me, seated opposite of me at the Slytherin table.

“Hey Draco, cool it mate. You are going to give yourself away.”, he said then took a sip from his goblet.

I looked at him and said, “What do you mean by that?”

He laughed and motioned behind him, “You’ve been staring at her since the carriage ride, if you keep looking at her like you have been everyone in the whole school is going to know that you are in love with my sister.”

My eyes widened at what he said, but I knew he was right. Something inside of me felt different now and it made me start to wonder, “Blaise, do you think its possible that when my parents made the marriage arrangement with your father that they made some sort of magical bond?”

Blaise turned serious and leaned closer to me, “What do you mean? Why would you wonder that?”

I took a deep breath then replied, “It’s just that when we were in the carriage my hand touched Hermione’s, and ever since I just can’t stop thinking about her. My body feels like its being summoned by some force to be right next to her at all times. I don’t know, I’m going mad.”

Blaise looked slightly worried, “Wouldn’t something like that be forbidden, it sounds like Dark Magic. Your parents would never use Dark Magic on you as an infant, and I don’t think my father would do that either…”, he seemed to be trying to convince himself as well.

I turned my face back towards Hermione and spoke, “All I know is that I feel like I am wired to take care of her.”, then I looked back to Blaise and said, “Fuck, when will our lives ever just be normal?”

He laughed and took a large bite of a meat pie on the plate in front of him.

The meeting in Headmistress McGonagall’s office proved to lead to my down fall of the night. I could barely focus on a thing the Headmistress was saying, Hermione’s thoughts about me were beaconing me again, distracting me from paying attention to McGonagall’s words. Once we were alone walking the halls of the castle, I could not stop myself anymore. I poured my heart out to her, I needed her forgiveness. I decided in that moment, that even if I could not have her for my own since she was with Weasley, I would do all in my power to obtain her forgiveness and support her for anything she could ever need me for. If I couldn’t have her for myself, then I would at least make myself present in her life hopefully as a friend, just to make sure she was safe and happy.

Before I knew it, I was on my knees in front of her, begging for her forgiveness. And she gave it to me so willingly, letting the heavy weights on my heart slack free. I felt renewed.

And then as I looked up into her eyes, I saw it, her thoughts playing out perfectly in front of me. She was studying my face, adoringly, tempted to brush her delicate fingers over the skin of my cheek. I could see the longing for her to touch me growing in her eyes. Tempted as I was, I knew I had to break the connection and stop invading her thoughts, so I abruptly turned away from her. 

Then we just walked together to the Head Wing, and the conversation was remarkably easy for us to engage in. I felt my heart get giddy with excitement as our banter back and forth started to turn to harmless flirting. That’s all it was right, all just harmless flirting, Hermione still had Weasley after all.

Once we got to our rooms we went our separate ways to each unpack our trunks and belongings. When I was finished unpacking, I couldn’t stop thinking about Hermione. She was just across the common room, just yards away. I felt that pull deep in my core, an invisible force pulling me towards the woman that was tangled up in my thoughts. 

I couldn’t stop myself and walked over to the outside of her open door, using the prefect meeting for the following day as an excuse to talk to her again. I just wanted to hear her voice again, maybe that would calm the bubbling in my stomach. What I did not expect was for her to outright invite me into her room. I had roamed into dangerous territory. 

She was so calm about just inviting an ex Death Eater into her private rooms, she trusted me, but I did not trust myself. I would have gotten out of there just fine if she hadn’t spilled her books to the ground. Once our skin touched, my thoughts clouded, and I could see the desire she felt for me. I read her mind, she was dreaming about kissing me, she wanted me to kiss her, to feel her lips over mine. I had to get away, so tried to run, but she caught me.

“Wait, Draco. I-I was just wondering,' and I hate to pry, i-it’s just I thought I felt…I mean are you a Legilimens by chance?”, she asked me.

Fuck, she caught me reading her mind, and she caught me while she just happened to be imagining kissing me. But she seemed to not care in the slightest, even when I teased her about Weasley finding out, she didn’t care. And why didn’t she care? Because apparently Weasley was out of the picture.

I felt pained by her hurt, he had clearly hurt her heart somehow, and had left her questioning her worth. I had to correct that. I told her how special she was, and that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Then she was imagining us, again… And yet again her thoughts were pouring out of her, containing nothing but the two of us snogging.

I couldn’t help myself, I couldn’t hold back anymore, she was practically begging for me to touch my lips to hers. So, I did, though it was for the briefest moment, it was the sweetest kiss my lips had ever tasted. Once we pulled apart I could feel that pulling in my core move up towards my chest, pulling me towards her with an even stronger force. I didn’t even think, I took her head into my hand and pulled her flush into me as I devoured here sweet lips. 

I was starting to lose myself, this was everything I had been dreaming of the last nine years of my life. My body started to take over, but my mind quickly caught up and forced me to stop. I couldn’t continue, if I didn’t stop I was certain that I would be inside of Hermione before I left this room. But she had other plans, because I did indeed receive the opportunity to enter her before I left that room. 

I slept with Hermione, with Hermione Zabini, the witch I had been destined to spend my life with since before she was born. And she was perfect, absolutely perfect. She was so free with me and didn’t hold anything back, it was refreshing. I knew how I made her feel, it was radiating off her thoughts, and it made me feel like a man of importance once again.

The last few of years of my life completely broke me down into nothing, I had really nothing to live for but my mother, my father was the one who had gotten us into this mess in the first place. But tonight, with Hermione, I finally felt good again, like there could be more to my life than just Draco Malfoy the cowardly Death Eater. She helped me to see the light in my deep darkness. 

But blast! What was I to do now? I should have told her the truth about us, or let her find out about it somehow, before anything like this happened between us. I felt like she was now in control of my heart, the fate of my happiness rested within her. Would she want more from this, or was I just a rebound from her breakup with Weasley? Merlin, I had to make this right somehow.


	7. 7

I awoke with a warm feeling throughout my body, I felt more relaxed than I had in years. The sun was glowing through the light blue stained glass of my window, creating a serene feel to the room. I stretched my arms high into the air and felt the slight chill of the morning air on my bare skin. Oh yeah, I was still completely naked. I looked around the room to find that Draco was not there with me.

The thought of Draco made my heart beat faster, making my insides giddy. Draco Malfoy was in my bed last night, inside of my body and my thoughts. I closed my eyes and could see his beautiful chiseled face with his messy platinum hair framing his silvery blue eyes. I remembered the feeling of his satin soft pale skin beneath my hands, trailing over his lean muscles and up his broad chest and strong shoulders. 

Fuck Hermione get it together, you have been awake mere seconds and you’re already obsessing over Malfoy. I couldn’t help it. My memories didn’t seem real, they felt like a romance movie playing in my head with actors that just happened to be identical to Draco and myself. But I know it was real…that feeling of euphoria that Draco showed me last night, that couldn’t be imagined. He fit with me so perfectly and made sure that I was enjoying it just as much as he did, way more than I could say for any other man I had tried to be physical with. 

Just the feeling of his skin on mine was enough to drive away all my other thoughts. Since we had been reunited my life felt a little easier, lighter somehow. I didn’t have to try with Draco, I didn’t have to prove anything, he seemed to really appreciate me for me and the person that I am beneath. 

As much as I wanted to just lay in bed and think of Draco all day, I knew that I had to get up and ready for the day, especially before the Prefect meeting. I made my way into my bathroom and turned on the faucet for the overhead rain shower. The water was scented and smelled like roses with traces of lavender. I washed and conditioned my hair then put a sweet silky oil into my curly strands to keep them hydrated and tame. 

The bathroom quickly filled up with steam, coating the large mirrored wall with perspiration. I turned off the water and used a drying spell to dry myself. I opened the door to my room and watched the steam evaporate into the air. I went to my vanity and put on some light makeup, taming my eyebrows and coating my eyelashes in black mascara, then I went to work on my hair, fixing it in a messy bun on the crown of my head. 

Since today was basically a day off, I decided to dress in my regular day wear. I went to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and paired it with a dark purple long-sleeved v-neck blouse that helped accentuate my breasts. I put on my clothes and sprayed myself in my favorite warm vanilla scented perfume. 

I checked my watch to see that the time was 9:50, there were likely already a few students just outside my door in the common room waiting for the meeting to start. Blast, I had really wanted to speak to Draco before the meeting. I had to clear the air. I mean last night had to be just another notch in his belt for him, another conquest. There could never be anything truly romantic between us, he was Draco Malfoy after all. I’m sure his parents already had his future planned out for him some beautiful pure blood witch that he was betrothed to. Draco had been known to be somewhat of a player in the past years, having hooked up with numerous witches in our year and the one below us. 

Then something he said to me last night entered my head “I have been waiting so long for you.” What had he meant by that? Probably just that he had been waiting a long time to add me to his list of witches he has slept with, what else could it possibly mean? No matter what it meant, I knew deep down that if Draco indeed had no intentions of anything more, my heart would be crushed. 

Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I took two long strides and placed my hand on the handle, pulling it open. The door swung open to reveal Ginny Weasley, one of the female prefects for Gryffindor.

She was in her day clothes, in light blue boot cut jeans and a gray and white striped cardigan over a white t-shirt. She had a smile that reached into her green eyes. 

“Morning ‘Mione!”, she said with a little wave. 

“Good morning Ginny! Lovely day isn’t it?”, I asked a little too cheerfully. 

Ginny looked at me with a puzzled gaze and said, “Yes, I suppose it is. But have you even been out of your room yet? I didn’t see you come down for breakfast.”

My eyes widened a little, that was true, why was I acting so happy? Then my thoughts were interrupted as my stomach growled low in my belly, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything yet. 

I looked up at Ginny and said, “Yeah I guess I decided to sleep in, it’s been a tough week. But now I am regretting not getting breakfast before the meeting.” 

Ginny replied, “I understand Hermione you deserve all the rest you want, the last few years have been so hard on you. I still can’t believe you decided to come back here for another year, I would have taken that pardon in a heartbeat. But you look good, your skin is slightly luminous, have you started using a new moisturizer?”

I laughed and started walking towards the nook in the corner of the common room filled with pastries. At least I could get something in my stomach to keep any noises from interrupting our upcoming meeting. Ginny followed me across the room and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. 

“I had to come back Ginny. Even through all that happened, I love it here. There is still so much to learn, so much more information hiding in the books within this castle that are begging to be discovered. I’m actually sad that this will be my last year here.”, I said while taking a bite of a mini blueberry muffin. The muffin was a little dry. The one thing that I was greatly missing from my absence from breakfast was my typical morning coffee, how great it would be with this dry muffin. 

“Blast, all they have is cold drink things up here, what I would do for a nice hot cup of coffee.”, I said while pouring myself a small glass of water. 

Then I was cut off, “Ask, and you shall receive.”, Draco said from behind me. 

I turned around to see him pull out his wand and transform a goblet with water into a tea cup with hot water, he pulled out a bag of coffee beans from a drawer and with the flick of his wand they were crushed into powder and infused with the hot water in the cup. I could smell the aroma from the roasted beans, and it made my mouth start to water. 

Draco handed me the cup and said, “For you Miss Zabini.”

I took the cup from him, our fingers brushed slightly, and my insides went gooey. Then Draco smiled and with the flick of his wrist a splash of milk flew from a container next to me and into my cup.

“And if I remember correctly you take milk with your morning cup.”, he said while the milk was mixing into my coffee just the way I like it. 

A memory from last night came to my mind, I mentioned that I always had a cup of coffee with milk every morning. I can not believe he remembered that. I was stunned, he just made coffee for me in mere seconds and remembered exactly how I liked it. He was so talented, I hadn’t seen him use spells like these before, but he was clearly skilled in many different forms of magic. 

I was blushing, I could feel my cheeks burning with the blood pumping beneath my skin. And there were those blasted butterflies again. Why did he always make me feel this way? It was unnerving. I had to gain control before every person saw how heavily I was swooning over their Head Boy. 

I took a sip of the coffee, it was divine, then I took a small breath and said, “Thank you Draco, and good morning. I trust you slept well.”, I said then cleared my throat a bit at the end.

He was trying hard to suppress a smile, and failing miserably, “Yes I did sleep exceptionally well, thank you.”, then he turned towards Ginny to include her in the conversation, “Good morning Miss Weasley, are you excited for the start of term?”

Ginny looked at Draco oddly, clearly shocked that he was talking to her so casually, “Um…yes, I am looking forward it.”, and that’s all she said. After all, what was she supposed to say to the Slytherin Prince, they had never truly engaged in any real conversation. 

The three of us just stood there in an awkward huddle, no one quick to say anything to save the situation. That’s when I heard Blaise greet us from a few yards away, “Well well, if it isn’t my sister and my best friend.”, then he turned to Ginny, “And my sister’s best friend. Good morning everyone.”

Ginny corrected Blaise, “Actually I think you will find Harry is Hermione’s best friend, but I am happy to come in second, she is my best friend though, I’d say.”

I almost spit out the coffee I had in my mouth, “Ginny that is NOT fair! Yes, Harry is my best friend, but you are too! You’re a woman, I can talk to you about way different things that I can with Harry.”

Blaise cut in, “Oh except that those ‘womanly’ things you talk about would be about her brother, right? Eek that must be awkward being best friends with your boyfriend’s sister.”, he said with a disgusted look on his face.

Ginny looked even more awkward than she had before, and Draco just stood silent, Blaise was the only one in our little group who didn’t know that Ron and I had broken up. He looked around at us with a questioning look on his face, clearly, we knew something he did not.

So, I helped him out, “As it is, I am not with Ron anymore so that makes girl talk a bit easier I would say.”

Blaise’s mouth went into an ‘oh’ shape and his eyebrows were raised, “Oh, well yes I suppose that would make it easier. I’m sorry Hermione, I didn’t know.”, then Blaise slid his eyes towards Draco and said, “You knew about this?”

Draco replied nonchalantly, “Yeah, I just found out about it last night.”

Blaise’s lips went up into a smirk and he squinted his eyes at Draco, “Is that so?”

Draco gulped, and I felt nervous with him. Was Draco going to tell him what we did last night? After all, now his best friend had slept with his sister. I hadn’t thought about this before. What had I done? I slept with my brother’s best friend! Oh, bloody Hell! 

Luckily Ginny cut in and unknowingly saved Draco, “Well I think Ron is a bloody fool for letting you go Hermione. Honestly you deserve better, and he’s my brother so that’s saying something coming from me.”

Draco burst out laughing, and I thought for sure everyone would know right then and there what we had done. 

“What, don’t you think Hermione deserves the best?”, Ginny asked, clearly misunderstanding the reason behind his outburst.

He stopped his laughter and looked at me with kind eyes while answering her, “Yes, she deserves the world.”

My heart started to beat faster, the way he was looking at me, as if I was the royal crown jewels of Buckingham Palace, something to be treasured. No one had ever looked at me like that. I had to hold myself back from jumping into his arms. Luckily right then the clock chimed signaling that it was 10am and time for the meeting to start. 

Everyone took a seat at the large table in the center far side of the room in front of the large windows overlooking the grounds of Hogwarts. Draco and I took turns discussing with everyone what our expectations were from them for the year. Normally any other person who would be paired with me in such a task would just sit quietly while I said everything, but Draco made sure to get his fair share of words in and even took the lead on some topics. 

After nearly an hour we decided to come to a close and let everyone enjoy the rest of their last day before the start of term. A group of students broke into a group and decided to head to the Three Broomsticks for some firewhisky and butterbeer. Blaise and Draco had been invited by Daphne.

Ginny was talking my ear off about the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year and how she was going to try to set up tryouts differently this year that she had in the past. She was the Gryffindor captain, but I really did not care much for the sport. Sure, I went to every game and always supported my house and my friends, but I was not one for flying on a broomstick if I didn’t have to be. 

Suddenly I felt a change, like someone was right behind me, and based off the feeling I knew it had to be Draco.

“Excuse me ladies,”, Draco said to both of us, “A few of us are going to head to the Three Broomsticks, would you like to join us?”

Ginny had a surprised look on her face and I was beaming with excitement so without thinking I answered for both of us, “Sure, we’d love to go.”

Ginny narrowed her eyebrows at me, “Really? Well Hermione I am surprised you would dare to drink the day before lessons start. Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”

I replied with a smile, “Silly Ginny. I am still right here. Its just my last year here and as much as I want to spend it studying, I also want to enjoy myself. Plus, I’m sure you wouldn’t let me get too inebriated.”

She smiled and let out a sigh, “Well I can’t say that I don’t like this new you, because really I see a lot of great potential for us to have fun this year! But unfortunately, I won’t be able to accompany you, I have a meeting with the other Quidditch captains in a couple of hours.” 

Draco cut in, “Don’t worry, I will make sure Miss Zabini returns to the castle safe. And if you do drink too much, I have a potion that will instantly cure any hangover.”

He had a solution for anything. I was secretly very happy that Ginny wasn’t coming so I could try and talk to Draco about what occurred between us last night. But that would also be hard considering my brother would be there too. Merlin, I did get myself into a little mess, didn’t I?


	8. 8

The Three Broomsticks was crowded from wall to wall with students getting in their last day before the start or term. Somehow Daphne found a large enough table to accommodate our group and we all took a seat, I was placed between Blaise and Draco, who so far had both turned out to be very enjoyable companions. They told stories back and forth, sometimes even finishing one another’s sentences. They were like brothers. 

I felt warm knowing that they shared such a strong bond, but it also worried me. Here I was stuck between by newfound brother, and his best friend who I could not stop thinking about. What would Blaise do when he found out…well if he found out. Another reason why I needed to talk to Draco. 

I must have gotten lost in thought, because the next thing I knew Draco was gently nudging me, “Hey, Hermione, are you alright?”

I turned and looked into his eyes, “Yeah I’m fine, just a lot on my mind.”, then I looked away hoping he wouldn’t be able to read my thoughts if we weren’t making eye contact. I noticed that Blaise wasn’t beside me anymore, “Where did Blaise go?”

Draco answered, “He went to get everyone a round of Firewhisky, I think he is trying to get everyone drunk.”

“Oh, well I’ve never actually tried Friewhisky before, but I have seen my fair share of people drunk as can be while drinking it.”, I replied.

Draco laughed at me, “Well I’m glad that I get to help you experience so many things for the first time.”, clearly hinting at him giving me my first orgasm last night.

I dropped my eyes to the table and felt the red stain my cheeks. Thoughts of us tangled together seeped into my mind, of how his lips felt on my skin and the way he felt as he was pumping inside of me. I could feel my cunt starting to pulse with arousal and I instinctively placed my hands between my legs trying to hide any signs of my arousal.

Draco leaned into my ear and spoke barely above a whisper, “Merlin Hermione, can you control your thoughts please, they are very distracting.”

I turned towards him and said bashfully, “I’m sorry I can’t help it, I’ve been thinking about what happened last night all day.”

He let out a sigh, “Yes I know, it has been very hard to focus on anything today with your memories playing in my head. I have been battling an erection all damn day.”

“You what?”, I yelled out a little louder than I should have. Now I couldn’t stop picturing his erection, what it would look like trapped under his pants, bursting at the seams, and even more what it would look like once it was finally free from it’s enclosure. Suddenly my mouth started to salivate at the juicy thought and I knew my knickers were getting wet.

“Hermione.”, Draco looked at me with a serious gaze, I know he was trying to be firm with me to stop my thoughts from wandering further, but it only made him look even more sexy and made my desire burn hotter.

But right then Blaise dropped down a tray filled with shots of firewhisky directly in front of us, “Okay everyone, please take a shot, I would like to say a few words.”

Everyone held up a glass as Blaise said his toast, “I would like to propose a toast. Here is to my sister Hermione. I am so happy that we have found you, I have been dreaming of the day that my long-lost sister would finally be returned to me one day, and well here you are! Here’s to our future, I can’t wait to finally share my life with a sibling. To Hermione Zabini, the brightest witch of our time!”

“To Hermione!”, everyone around the table repeated before shooting their drinks.

I was touched, Blaise was really so sweet. I was sad that we weren’t able to grow up together, things would have been so much different in my life had that been the case. I guess I would have also grown up with Draco then too, now that was an interesting thought. I followed everyone’s lead and drank my amber red liquid down in one gulp. I had never tasted anything so strong, besides pollyjuice potion, but this liquid was burning my throat and instantly made me start coughing. 

Everyone around the table started laughing, and as the pain faded away I joined in with them.

“It’s always hard to take the first time, here, the second will be much better trust me.”, Blaise said while handing me another shot. 

We clinked glasses and I downed it again, this time I knew what to expect so it went down a lot smoother. I could feel the liquid start to make my insides warm and cozy. 

2 hours, three orders of iced pumpkin bread, and 4 firewhisky shots later, I was undoubtably drunk. 

I was sitting at the other end of the table from where I started, playing with Daphne Greengrass’s hair and telling her how pretty she was. I could tell that Daphne had really started warming up to me, I mean I was practically sitting in her lap and she was laughing at every word that came out of my mouth. 

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, and the spot felt tingly, so I knew the hand had to belong to Draco.

“Well I think someone has had a tad much to drink.”, he laughed at me, “Hermione how about we get you back to the castle and get some food into you.”  
I smiled big and said with slightly slurred words, “Draco, Draco, you are so thoughtful….I mean really thoughtful.”, I turned towards Daphne, “Isn’t he thoughtful Daphne?”

Daphne laughed along with me, or maybe at me, I’m not quite sure, “Oh yes, Draco has always been a good person to have behind you.”

Then I blurted out without thinking, “Mmmm, we’ll have to try that one later.”, I said and poked a finger into his hard chest.

Daphne gave Draco wide eyes, questioning what my statement referred to. 

Draco took a deep breath and spoke, “Well I think it’s clear Hermione has had enough, I’ll get her back to the castle.”

Daphne smirked and nodded her head, lending me her arm to help me out of the chair. But that just led to me toppling over on the table. Draco pulled me up with his strong arms and I fell weakly into him. I could not stand on my own whatsoever. 

Draco grunted and adjusted then lifted me up into his arms cradled like some big baby, “Okay well looks like I’ll need to carry you.”

I looked up onto his eyes with my arms wrapped around his neck, “You are so sweet Draco, thank you.”, and then I laid my head down on his shoulder and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent as he held me in his arm.

Blaise stopped Draco on our way out, “Hey mate, you got her there?”

“Yeah I’ve got her, I’ll get her back to the castle and give her one of my hangover cure potions, she will definitely need it.”, he replied while chuckling at me.

I said, “Mmmmmnnn…”, and nuzzled into his neck, feeling so safe in his arms.

Blaise chuckled, “Well that sure progressed quickly. Take care of my sister Draco, you know how important she is to me. Don’t let her get hurt.”

I could feel Draco tighten his grip around me, “You know better than anyone I would never let any more harm come to her.”

Blaise must have been content with his response because next I knew we were moving and I soon fell asleep in his arms. 

I woke about 10 minutes later, the sky was a pink and purple color, the sun was sinking beyond the horizon and fading into night. I was gently rocking back and forth, and I could feel warmth beneath me. 

I groaned and took in my situation, I was being carried by Draco, suddenly my memory kicked in and I remembered that I was still drunk. Not as drunk as I had been minutes ago, my short nap must have rejuvenated some of my senses. 

“W-what time is it?”, I asked with a groan.

“Its nearly 6. How are you feeling?”, he asked.

“Mmm, better than before but still sloshed. I think I drank a bit too much.”

He chuckled, “I would have to agree with you there, I am sorry, I should have stopped you from that last shot. You just looked like you were having such a good time and I didn’t want to spoil it for you.”, he said, still carrying me up the hills towards the castle.

I looked up at him, “Thank you Draco, for everything. You are amazing.”, then I let my head fall back into his chest.

“No Hermione, you are the amazing one. I will always be there to take care of you if you want me there.”, he said and gave me a short squeeze.

I fell asleep again shortly after that. 

The next time I awoke I was laying on the red velvet sofa in the Head Wing common room, there was a very low fire burning on the hearth in front of me. What time is it? Oh, I hope no one saw Draco carry me inside the castle, particularly any faculty. Fuck what was I thinking, letting myself get that drunk? I know I told myself I wanted to enjoy this year, but tonight I crossed the line. 

My head felt like it was cracked open, the headache pounding in my skull was comparable to how the cruciatus curse felt when Bellatrix Le Strange was trying to pry information out of me. Why did people do this to themselves? I had drunk liquor before, indulged in a butterbeer or two, but never have I felt this result from drinking. 

I moved my body to sit up and groaned with the pain that came with it.

“Here, drink this.”, a soft voice said to me.

I turned my head to the left where the voice came from, Draco was handing me a small glass with a dark green liquid in it. 

“Trust me Hermione, it will help they headache go away.”, he said, inching the glass closer.

I went to take the glass from him, but instead he brought the glass to my lips and guided the liquid into my mouth. It tasted like muggle cough syrup that had been contaminated with dog shit. It took everything in me to get the slimy liquid down. But it was worth it, and more. My headache was instantly gone, and I felt nearly completely sober. Whatever Draco had given me was a miracle, I wonder where he got it from, probably from some expensive potions maker that his parents used. 

I coughed a couple times then looked at Draco, his pale skin was glowing in amber beneath the flames of the fire, and his hair looked like it was ablaze itself. He was looking at me with his intense silver eyes, his lips pulled up to the side in a smirk.

I cleared my throat, “Th-thank you Draco. Merlin I can’t thank you enough I felt like I was dying.”

“Its my pleasure, I know the feeling all too well. I am glad you’re feeling better now though. Are you hungry? I asked some elf’s if they could bring you some food up.”, he said while standing and motioning to the table behind me, “You must be quite popular with them, because they sent you up your own little feast.”

I stood up and turned towards the large table at the end of the room. Nearly a third of it was covered with various foods. From roast chicken, soups with rolls, pies, little cakes, sandwiches, and even a tray filled with some type of dumpling that looked to be pot-stickers. There was enough food here to feed ten people! My stomach started growing while I looked at the trays before me. I sat at the table and just started to pick at the various dished before me, food had never tasted so good.

Draco made his way around the couch and leaned his body against the back of it. His feet crossed at the ankles, and his arms crossed over his chest. He was just standing there watching me, with a very amused look on his face. 

“Thank you again Draco, I don’t know how I can ever repay you for taking such good care of me. And that potion must have been expensive, please allow me to reimburse you for the cost.”, I said between little bites.

He shook his head, “It was my pleasure to assist you Hermione. You forget that I promised I will always be there to take care of you if you allow me to. And the potion is on me, please. I make it myself, so I have plenty available.”

“You’re kidding. You made that potion?”, I asked, amazed.

“Yes, why are you so surprised? Potions, and alchemy have always been my two strongest studies.”, he said while looking sheepishly at the floor.

I was caught off guard by his response. I really hadn’t paid any attention to Draco and what his interests were in our lessons, or what he was good at. I was too busy trying to avoid him and despised him too much to notice those things about him. I knew he was a bright wizard, he was Head Boy after all, but the skills that I had so easily seen him preform today told me that he was a very gifted wizard indeed. 

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to offend you Draco. I feel horrible for having underestimated you. I dare say that I am becoming increasingly intimidated by your knowledge and skill.”

He smiled warmly at me and slowly made his way toward the table, “You could not offend me Miss Zabini. How could you know much about me personally? I tortured you almost every day for over 4 years, I never even gave you the opportunity to know me.”, he was standing opposite the table from me, a mountain of food between us.

After I ate about eight pot-stickers and half of a sandwich I looked at my watch to see it was close to 10pm, I had expected it to be a lot later than that. Even though the potion Draco gave me helped my headache and my intoxication subside, I was still exhausted. I could feel my eyes starting to get droopy.

“I think it is time for you to get some rest. I would have put you into your bed earlier, but I didn’t know your password.”, he said, placing his hands on the chair in front of him.

The thought of him putting me to bed was a tempting image, but I knew I would fall asleep very soon and I couldn’t trust my mind to make any decisions while it was this tired. Plus, I didn’t want to risk doing anything else physical with Draco until we had a chance to talk about all of this. I needed to take it slow before I made any more rash decisions. 

I stood up from the table and said, “I hope you don’t think I am being rude by going to bed. Draco you have been the perfect gentleman and I don’t know how to repay you for your generosity.”

He started to make his way towards me from around the table. I of course kept rambling.

“Really, I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight, how I would have gotten home. Surely, I would be laying in a ditch somewhere in the dark forest if I tried to make it back to the castle on my own while that drunk. I mean it was very irresponsible of me to let myself drink so much. And I am truly sorry that you had to put up with me and carry me all the way here. Oh, I am mortified that you had to see me that way. I never drink, you see, and…”

He had brought himself to the spot directly in front of me, just inches from my face. He brought his finger up to my lips to silence me and said, “Shhh, do not apologize. I would do it all over again. I do agree that you should get some rest, tomorrow is a big day for us both.”, he brought his hand to my cheek and let his thumb graze over my lips, “There is just one thing I have to do before we part for the night.”, and he brought his lips gently on mine, leaving a short but very sweet kiss on my lips.


End file.
